ADF contingent Commander of those operations Major General Peter Cosgrove, Australian Army. US Forces portions of the MEU, including Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines and Charlie Company 1st Battalion 5th Marines, then the MEU's Battalion Landing Team; portions of the Command Element; and HMM-265, the MEU's Air Combat Element; and MEU Service Support Group 31 deployed to East Timor in January 2000 aboard as Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force East Timor. In East Timor, the Marines and Sailors supported the transition from the Australian-led International Forces in East Timor (INTERFET) to the new United Nations Transitional Administration East Timor (UNTAET). 9-11 On 12 September 2001, which was 11 September on the East Coast, the Marines of the 31st MEU's Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion 5th Marines (BLT 2/5) were secured in their barracks on Camp Hansen as a Super Typhoon was passing over Okinawa, Japan. Marines became aware of the September 11 attacks through the Armed Forces Network television and radio stations, and word quickly spread. That evening the 31st MEU received a 96-hour warning order for deployment and was notified that the Navy ships were en route to load as quickly as possible. Although the storm was still in progress, Marines prepared their personal gear, plans were made, and vehicles and equipment were quickly moved to the port facility and onto the ships. The helicopter squadron was the last to board due to the passing storm, and the on-load was successfully completed in 93 hours. The 31st MEU then steamed south towards their anticipated destination, Afghanistan. As the ships passed Singapore, their destination was changed to East Timor. There the MEU again supported UNTAET operations. It was later found out that the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, just returning from a deployment to East Timor, was assigned the task of heading to Afghanistan. 21st century From September 2004 to March 2005, the 31st MEU, including Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion 3rd Marines with attached Charlie Battery of 1st Battalion 12th Marines, conducted combat actions during the Iraq War. Participation included a major role in Operation Phantom Fury, the clearing of Fallujah in November 2004. With organizational changes to Marine Corps' reconnaissance units in 2006, all the MEU's Special Operations Capable (SOC) designations were removed. The 31st MEU then became titled as a Maritime Contingency Force, although it remains capable of conducting the same wide variety of specialized